Like it or not, Uber is growing up. What used to be a controversial mobile transportation app service is now expanding to food delivery and beyond.
When I say beyond, I mean plans for same day merchant delivery. There are plans to train Uber drivers and couriers for a merchant delivery program to get goods from stores to online shoppers in one day. They’re already 400 companies conspiring to make same day Uber delivery a reality. These stores include Neiman Marcus, Louis Vuitton, and Hugo Boss. They’re also allying with mobile shopping app Spring. Yesterday, April 28, 2015, Spring sent emails promoting Spring+Uber services for companies like Big Bang Jewelry, Industry Standard and Outdoor Voices. For a limited time only, these two companies have joined forces to deliver these companies’ goods in a three hour period. But shops like Big Bang Jewelry are a lot less known than a mega corporation like Neiman Marcus. And they have less volume to move around. Eventually, Uber wants to take passengers and merchandise orders at the same time through one app. One spokesperson said, “Experimenting and finding new, creative ways for the Uber app to provide even greater value to our riders and driver partners is a way of life at Uber.”
I respect their quest for expansion, but let’s be cautious about it. While these merchant services were broadcast last summer, I still doubt Uber is ready to take on deliveries from chains like Neiman Marcus and Louis Vuitton. Teaming up with Spring is a great move, but they should keep their focus on the smaller businesses first. If these partnerships are successful, then move on to the bigger more high-end stores. What if they go deliver for the high-end stores, only to find they don’t have the resources or manpower to meet deliveries or consumer demands? What good would that do anybody?
In Switzerland, their national postal service will be conducting an experiment. Instead of a mailman delivering the bills, checks, letters, and junk mail, robots will be filling in.
The Swiss Post will be using drones supplied by Matternet. These experiments are expected to start summer 2015. The first drone they’ll use is called ONE. This drone can deliver over two pounds of mail over 12 miles in one trip. Matternet has already tested drones to deliver medicine to Haiti’s poorest communities and most inaccessible neighborhoods. This drone company leads the world in hours flown and now wants to run three pilots for the Swiss Post. Matternet’s founders, Andres Raptopoulos and Paola Santana, are very excited about the experiment, as well they should be. It’s been their dream to send drones to places that could use them the most. Maybe they have a little too much confidence in Matternet. Raptopoulos is quoted as saying, “Quadcopters may be the biggest invention in vehicle technology since the internal combustible engine.” But then again, when you look at how popular and useful drones are today, Raptopoulos may be onto something.
I applaud Matternet for using drones for when they’re needed and in emergency situations and in times of crises. They’re doing a good job with that in Haiti, where the need is often critical. But how critical is it for mail to be delivered by drones? Will it really hurt us if our letters and small packages keep getting to their destinations the old fashioned way? I think Matternet should focus their efforts on philanthropy work, like what they’re doing in Haiti. There are a lot of places around the world, and even here in America, that can use such services. And what if the experiment is successful? What if nations around the world use Matternet drones? How many potential jobs could that cost?
Last week, Apple launched a pre-order campaign on their next big anticipated thing, the iWatch. Were the pre-orders successful?
Yes, they were successful. On Friday April 10th alone, Apple received approximately one million pre-orders. That’s so many that if you pre-ordered today, it would take you until May to get your watch. The majority of watches were for the aluminum Sports version. That’s the low cost version that will run you a minimum $350. A third of orders were for the stainless steel Apple Watch edition. That edition starts at $549. There were hardly any orders for the Gold Edition series. Maybe the $1,700-$10,000 price tag has something to do with that. The average ticket for order was $504. The most popular colors are space gray, then stainless steel, then silver aluminum, then space black steel. Black was the most popular cover of all the sports band colors, making up for 64% of sales. White sports band made up for 22% of sales, while pink, blue and green made up for a combined 14 percent of sales. Nearly three-fourths of pre-orders call for the larger 42mm size. And it seems like the iWatch appeals to Apple’s faithful and loyal. The vast majority of iWatch customers also purchased an Apple product in the last two years.
What do all these numbers mean? Some are concerned that Apple pre-orders did a little too well. Some are concerned there won’t be enough supply to meet demand come April 24, when iWatches come to physical stores in the United States and nine other western nations. Maybe the Gold Edition was a golden mistake. If the minimum of this gold standard cast $1,700, but the average ticket is around $500, what does that tell you? There may be a few that purchase the high end iWatch, but this economy is still struggling, and there’s?still not too many people in the mood to go all extravagant. They’re not in the mood for the crazy colors either, as in only 14% of bands were in pink, blue or green. Maybe they should just stick to the conservative colors. Do these statistics make you want to get an iWatch?
New information about the Apple iWatch is buzzing around the world, from the Internet to morning talk shows. But is Apple’s newest product since the iPad even worth the hype?
For die hard iWatch junkies, you’ll be glad to know pre-sale orders begin Friday, April 10. It will be released in stores Friday, April 24. The smartwatch is one of the first wearable technological devices in history (let’s not spoil the blog by talking about that monstrosity called Google Glass!), and Apple is banking everything on the iWatch. It’s part watch, part iPod, part iPhone buddy, part GPS system, part health and fitness device. But this device isn’t cheap. The aluminum models are between $350-$400. It all goes uphill from there. A steel model iWatch will cost you $550-$1,100. Would you rather had the gold model? Are you willing to pay $10,000-$17,000 for it? From the information I’m getting, the iWatch will work with the iPhone when the iPhone is on and from a short distance, and it works with Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. Critics rave about the apps and easy connection to other Apple devices. Battery life is getting mixed reviews. From what I hear, it lasts for about 24 hours. That’s great for some and others wish it were more. It’s longer than my iPod Touch; I’ll tell you that. Some critics don’t like how slow the apps can be and the fact iWatch is only compatible with Apple products.
Should you be spending hundreds, even thousands, on this watch? You shouldn’t be spending thousands on any watch! This is especially true when the $400 watch is just as efficient. Apple is putting a lot on the line here, especially against competing smartwatches. Will this be a good risk for Apple? Many could use all these features in one device. They say one should only get the iWatch if you really need it. Do you really need the iWatch?
Most girls born after 1960 have probably owned a Barbie and/or a Barbie toy set. It used to look something like this. Today, the Barbie franchise looks a lot different.
Today’s Barbie can literally have a conversation with you. It’s called Hello Barbie. Hello Barbie is expected to appear on store shelves in late 2015. This Barbie uses the child’s voice pattern and Wi-Fi to interact with the child. In a demonstration, an adult woman talks about New York restaurants and even what she should be when she grows up. Yes, an adult woman is literally asking a doll what she should be when she grows up! While this doll is a technological breakthrough, it’s causing intense debate. Those who support Hello Barbie say it will enhance a child’s motor and social skills. Some say it will give lonely children a friend and make it so they don’t have to be lonely. But opponents are nicknaming this new toy ‘surveillance Barbie’. Civil libertarians and privacy right advocates say this doll can be used to spy on a child, or anyone for that matter. They argue Hello Barbie can manipulate the child into something he/she isn’t, or exploit a child’s emotions. There’s an advocacy group called Campaign For a Commercial-Free Childhood that’s even calling on Mattel to take this talking doll off the shelves at once.
I won’t go as for as the Campaign For a Commercial-Free Childhood, but there’s cause for concern. There is just something Big Brother/Orwellian about this doll. I’m afraid of what it might be teaching our children. ?I believe it is Mattel’s intention to make Hello Barbie a fun, educational and enriching experience for children. But in the world we live in, it can easily be twisted into something sinister. It can easily be manipulated into a spy tool, turning family against family and friend against friend. I don’t like the way it’s telling people what they should be when they grow up either. They’re taking children’s imagination away to figure that out for themselves. And what about the social ramifications? This could discourage kids to make real friends with real people. Why even try when you got interactive Barbie at home? So when the child gets grown and enters the real world, he/she won’t have the people skills they need to succeed, especially if they spent the first 18-22 years of life with a doll as their best friend. Isn’t society already coming to that already?
How much would you pay for a smartwatch? It’s the next big thing in wearable technology. Would you pay $200? Would you pay $500? Would you pay $1,000?
How would like to pay over $10,000? You would if it were up to Swiss watchmaker TAG Heuer, you probably would. TAG Heuer is teaming up with Google and Intel to make the ultimate smartwatch. Not only that, this could lead to more collaborations between the technology world and French based luxury conglomerate LVMH. Speaking of LVMH, their watchmaking leader Jean-Claude Biver made an announcement at a watch expo in Basel, Switzerland. This announcement included the prediction this new watch would be, “The greatest connected watch.” Android Wear head developer David Singleton backed him up, saying, “When I think about the?watch,?it’s always been a marriage of beauty and utility. We’re going to do that with our partnership.” While TAG will design the watch, Intel will provide the chip system, and Google will take care of the software. This watch is expected to be on the market in late 2015, probably just in time for the Christmas shopping season. That would be the perfect time of year to compete against Apple’s iWatch.
And this is the perfect year to make such a strike. About 28 million smartwatches are expected to sell in 2015. Compare that to less than 5 million in 2014. Apple is expected to garnish over half those numbers. I asked how would you like to pay over $10,000 for a smartwatch. ?That’s the price for Apple’s gold smartwatch, the most expensive one of it’s kind. We don’t know the price of TAG’s upcoming watch. But looking at what’s being manufactured into this creation, and who is behind the creation, this watch could equal, if not exceed, $10,000. Could the Google, Intel and TAG Heuer beat Apple? Or instead of high end watches, could low end watches beat Apple at this game?
